Acetylene generator



Jam. 29, .1924. 1,481,943 Y' P. WADE v AGETYLENE GENERATOR Filed Se v2.5 1920 :inattendu:

fargli/Ende,

@Musings NTTED? STATES insista 7 PATENT orifice.

AQETYLENE GENERATOR;

Application filed September 2331920'. Serial No. 412,198.

Be it known that I, Pnncr lNADn,l a citizen of the United States, residing'at VVashington7 District of Columbia; have invented certain new and"` usefuly Improvements in l Acetylene Generators; and'I do hereby de Clare-the following to'. beafull, clear, and exact description of the invention,` such as will enable others skli'lled in the art to which it"appertainstomakefand usev the same.

This invention'l relates to lene gas by thereaction of calcium carbid and water.

The invention is designed primarily toi supply acetylene from acarbid generator under'` a predetermined and automatically controlledspressure, suiiicient, for example, for use' in acetylene torches ofthe pressure type; i

It is an obj ect of theinventicn to produce f an apparatus of the vtype described in which the gas may be generated under adequate pressure'in one unit7 or set of units, washed int another unit; stored under pressure in a` third un'it the latter `of which may,V forl purposes ofsaxfety, be sunk beneaththe ground, an'dtdregulate the generation of gaslin ac-` cordance' with the pressure in the receiving tank. *Ai furtherl object is to build an apparatus of theclass described in unitslthatl may be conveniently distributedin accordance with the available space.

Other objects of the invention are to regulatethe generationy of gas in responsevto the `pressure of the generatedv gas; to provide a generator unitwherein thecooling water is in direct contactwith the outside of the car-` bideholder and wherein the carbide-holden l isy withoutv holes or: notches to' admitthe Water-to' the carbide; the water iiowingsuccessivelyyover the sides of-itheholder touthe several'pockets4 in succession; to provide; ai simple safety appliancefso. that 'excess ofpresl sure within the" generator may. be.- released beforethedanger pointiisreached.

VfithL thesev andi other Objectis inl view the invention consists in the: combination and. in thesubconibinationsyset forth; inztheens-ung y apparatus adapted for use inthe. generation of acety description, illustrated inthe-drawings and defined `in the appended claim.v

In the drawings: Figure l illustrates diagrammatically the several parts of the apparatus and their re 56 ylationship to each other Figure 2 is a longitudinal section through the carbide holder and gas generator;

Eigure 3 is a: section on'y line 8-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is .a perspective of the lower end of the generator tank; A

Figure 5is `a perspectiveofl one end of the carbide holder Figure 6 is a perspective of a cover for the generator tank.

Similar reference characters designate similar parts throughout the several views. f In the drawings,l l designates the casing of the ygenerator or what may be designated asethe generator tank. Thefsaid tank is preferably made of sheet metal) provided with welded joints; itr consists,y of a rectan gular elongated casing permanently closed at onek end 2 andopened at the'end 3. Saidtank is preferably bound with av plurality of1 spaced metal bars 4 embracing it transversely for strengthening purposes.

Overhangin'gthe upper side at end 3 of tank l andE welded or otherwise secured thereto isv a fastening member 5 provided with ahook affording anfopening 6 adapted to admit, laterally, 'al spring locking bar, presently to' beidescribed.'` Tothe lower side of the tank or: casing l, directly opposite the fastening member 5, a fasteningmember 7 overhangs the end, said membery having al hole 8. Themember 7 is alsowelded or otherwise firmly secured tothe casing.

A cover 9; corresponding in shape to the en'd ofE the` tank vor, casing is adapted to close` the open end thereof,y suitable gaskets being provided whereby the said cover may fitriiuid tight. At topand bottom of thel said cover 9 are slotted ears 10 through which the members 5 and?` are' adapted to pass-rwhenthecover "is aiiixed to the end ofv the casing. In order to securethegcover in place a spring locking ban 12; is provided, said. bar having, an. outward; bowed central 100 ren Vof the casing 1, spring` locking bar 1-2 1n the openings in said members 5 and?, and turning Athe screw V so as to press the cover 9 againstl F the end oi"- the tank or casing 1, a secure fastening is obtained, but one which will yield under excessive pressure, the spring locking bar tending to buckle outward and release the covery 9- so thatV gas under pres sure and water may-escape between it and the edge of the tank or casing. It will be apparent that the pressure under which'it may be desired that the bar 12 may yield may be precalculated so that the said bar may be made and clamped so as to yield to any desired pressure. l

The carbid holder 2O comprises a rectangular tank open at the'top and divided into a number oft pockets or compartments by cross partitions 21. The carbid holding tank is made'su'iiciently smaller in cross section than the casing 1 so that when the holder is pushed into the tank or casing 1 Athrough the open end '3 there will be 'a restrictedwater space on each side of the holder. At one end 0iE thefsaid carbid holder 2O holes 22 are provided lior the purpose oi engaging a hook by means of which the holder ymay be removed from the casing for purposes of emptying the waste lime and recharging the holderwith fresh carbid.

In use, the casing 1 will be supported at an incline to the horizontal by any suitable support such as S, the end 2being arranged higher than'the end 3. At one side of the casing adjacent to the higher end 2 is an inlet 30 into which is tapped a water pipe 50. The water inlet discharges into the space between the carbid holder 2() and the wall of the tank or casing 1. An outlet 21 for gas is provided through the topi of the casing 1 near the end 2. A. check valve 32 is contained within a casing 32 communicating with the outlet 31, said 'check vvalve opening under the pressure of gas escaping from the casing and seating under pressureV in the opposite direction.

A pipe 33 leads from the gas outlet 31 to a gas washer 34 and a check valve 35 is preferably provided adjacent the inletv to the washer 34:, said valve opening under the pressure of gas seeking to enter the washer 'pressure for use in and closing in response to pressure in the Vmi tank so that gas entering will go to the bottom of the water or other washing luid and then rise therethrough.`

From the'top oi the washer 34 extends a gas. pipe 37 which leads to a pressure tank 38m which Vthe gas is stored under suitable a shop or elsewhere.' F rom the tank 38 a suitable gas oii'take 39 is provided for supplying gas to torches or other burners.

Y In' order to maintain pressure Vin the tank 38 I provide a water tank 4i() which may be placed in an upper story at aheight suicient to provide the required pressure. il connects the bottom of tanl l() with the bottom of tank 38. v

In the embodiment illustrated the water pipey 50 connected to the inlet valve 30 of the generator communicates Vwith a city water main, as by means of a pipe 51, in which is a check valve 52 designed to open in order to admit water through. the pipe 50 into the tank 1. i Said valve 52 is, however, controlled by any suitable pressure responsive device 53, herein shown as o the expansible chamber'type,.arranged to be responsive to pressure in the tank 38, the chamber ot' said pressure responsive device being Vin communication, by means of asmall pipe 54:, with said tank 38. Y By this arrangement it will beY apparent 'that the pressure responsive device 53 will iclose the valve 52 andv prevent the passage of water wheneverr pressure in the tank 38 has reached a certain predetermined pressure tor which the said .regulator Vis set and will open when the pressure is less than the predetermined amount; and it will be apparent that if it is desired. to maintain any predetermined amount of pressure in the tank 38, said pressure responsive device will be so adjusted that when the pressure exceeds that amount lthe device 53 will close the valve52 and cut oil' the water supply whereupon the generator will cease operating because oir' the lack of water.

From the construction described Vit will be seen that water flowing into the casing 1 will gradually fill the lower Vend thereof up to the topI edge of the lowest carbid pocket and will flow over into the said low'- est pocket. The generation of gas will then begin and will continue until the carbid in the lowest pocket is exhausted. If no more gas is needed at this time the water supply can be cut oli. If Va continuous supply of gas is needed the ow of water continues and next enters over thel sides of the pocket A pipe fet flll

next to the lower pocket whereupon gas begins to generate from the. carbid in the next lowest ocket, and so the carbid in each pocket trom lowest to highest reacts in succession with the Water pouring over the sides, andshould it be desired to stop the production of gas at any time it is simply necessary to cut off the Water supply. The plant is Seliv regulating withrespect to the quantity of gas supply, by means of thepressure responsive device 53 which controls the admission of Water, said device responding directly to the pressure of the gas in the equalizing or storing tank 38, as de* scribed.

By reason of the readily portable 4sepa-V rate units of which the outfit is constructed, this plant may be distributed in shops Where there is limited room because .the several units may be disposed in places that would otherwise be Waste room. The Washer and gas tank may be disposed out of doors, and the latter be buried in th-e earth, it desired.

rlfhe safety appliance disclosed is extremely simple, requires no expensive valves and is thoroughly efficient; there being no holes or notches to become plugged up with lim-e during the reaction in the generation of gas, the generator cannot become choked and cease operating as sometimes happens with genera-tors of this type in which Water is admitted to the several pockets through holes or notches. The tank or tanks l may be so disposed that the end into which the carbid holder is inserted and through Which it is removed may be out of doors, the tank extending through the Wall of the shop or other building. Thus no Wet lime or residue need be scattered over the floor.

The thin layer of Water in contact with the side Walls of those carbid cells Which contain carbid and'water in violent reaction, will tend to cool the Walls of the holder, and will `transmit the heat to the tank l which is exposed to the outer air.

By means of the control o1L th-e water supply in response to pressure of the generated gas, only so much gas will be generated as the torches or burners demand, and the evolution of gas Will cease automatically when thereis a suiiicient supply in the pressure tank.

Having described my invention in such manner as to enable those skilled in the art to make and use the same what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

In a gas generating apparatus ot1 the class described comprising an elongated inclined gas-tight casing, a plural compartment carbide holder of lesser size than and adapted to be positioned Within `the said casing, means forv admitting Water at the upper end of said casing between the casing and container so that the Water may run down between said casing and container to cool said container and to fill the lowermost compartment and then overlon7 into the several com part-ments of the container one after the other as the height ot the Water increases.

In testimony whereof l aiix my signature.

PERCY WADE. 

